


Bedside Manner

by ArcaneDesires



Category: Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Illness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 06:44:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcaneDesires/pseuds/ArcaneDesires
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cato is suffering from the flu, Clove decides to go and see how he is. Only she really isn't so good at the whole comfort thing and Cato's acting a little odd. It's only because of the fever right? Clove discovers she feels more than she realised she could and Cato decides her bedside manner sucks. But this is how they work and Clove somewhat manages to patch things up, even if she doesn't manage to patch him up just yet. Though as it turns out, he's in a sharing mood and it's not such a good thing for her, even if he seems pretty happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedside Manner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LovelyAche](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyAche/gifts).



> Yeahhhhhhhhhh, I dunno. I really don't know. Just shoving this up here, because I didn't know where else to put it. I wrote this as a gift for someone I know who is currently sick with the flu. Last night this idea flashed through my mind and so I typed up what I could then and finished it today. It may suck, it may be good, honestly I don't know how to judge my own work right now and I don't much care whether it's IC or OOC. I just felt like writing Clato, so here you go. If you like it, drop me some kudos or a comment? I'll luff you forever if you do! XD
> 
> For my Cato LovelyAche, get better soon and idk what this even is, but maybe you'll like it anyway. Part to come whenever I write it!

Clove frowned and glanced at the door. The sound of her knocking resounded around her. She drummed her fingers idly upon the bare flesh of her arm. Her dark brown eyes fixed firmly upon the door and she gave out an audible sigh when it finally opened to reveal a tall, statuesque blonde woman with piercing ice blue eyes.

“Oh Clove! It’s only you, I thought someone was trying break down the door.”

The older woman scowled at her and Clove rolled her eyes and sneered right back. “I wanted to make sure I was heard.”

Surprisingly the other female just laughed and stepped back, directing her inside. Clove moved forward with a shake of her head and flicked her gaze over her surroundings. She didn’t need to ask permission or even where he was, but purely out of deeply ingrained habit, she did so anyway.

“Is he lounging about in bed like a sulky kid then?”

The other woman didn’t so much as blink at her abrupt attitude, closed the front door and began walking towards the kitchen before she answered. “Of course. Try not to be TOO hard on him, he really is rather ill.”

Clove nodded and turned to the stairs. Stalking quickly up them, she made her way to an all too familiar cream door. She didn’t waste her time or her patience by knocking, she simply pushed the door open and stepped quickly inside.

A solid and very conspicuous bump beneath the bed covers left no doubt as to his position. She sighed again, irritated by his illness and inability to join her at training, but also at the illness just in general.

“Are you actually asleep or just ignoring me?” She spat the words out caustically and glared while she stalked to the side of the bed.

No movement or sound escaped from the direction of the bed and she narrowed her eyes further. Reaching out, she poked him in the side and quickly withdrew her hand. Ill or no, she knew full well what Cato Keyes was capable of thank you very much.

“Huh? Wha’ fuck?” He mumbled. Swiftly he clamped his hand around her wrist and glared blearily up at her. “Clove?”

“Last I checked yeah. Ten points to Captain Obvious, though given your current state, maybe I should make it twenty.” She cocked her head to the side and smirked down at his dazed form.

Clearly he didn’t appreciate her unique brand of bitchiness since he locked his sleepy gaze with hers and sent her a look that would have frozen most lesser beings. He yawned, squeezed warningly on her wrist and then released her.

“If you’re just here to be a bitch, then fuck off and annoy someone else. I’m really not in the damn mood right now.” He didn’t sound petulant like most people would have, he sounded pissed and just as dangerous as always. At least that hadn’t changed.

“I just came to see if the rumours were true. Clearly they weren’t, you’re obviously not dead.” She snapped back and folded her arms across her chest. Then raised one carefully arched eyebrow at him.

He laughed, which quickly turned into a slightly hacking cough and groaned when he flopped back to the bed. “They actually think I’m dead? What the fuck?”

He almost sounded like he was talking to himself more than her, but she answered anyway, sinking down onto the very edge of his large bed and shrugged. “Well no, I kinda made that part up, but everyone’s talking about you being so unable to attend training and taking bets on what has you so incapacitated. So what is it? The plague? I thought we eradicated that crap.”

He growled and shifted over just like he always did, giving her room to stretch out on the bed beside him. She didn’t and he huffed, turning his gaze from hers with another wet cough. “Flu, nothing special, just a seriously bad case of the flu.”

Flu? Seriously? Giving in to her usual behaviour, she lay down on her side and propped herself up by resting one elbow against the mattress. She rested her head in her hand and studied him. He looked like shit. Dark circles ringed his eyes, his skin was pale and waxy looking and his angry glare was ruined by the haze contained within his sky blue eyes.

“The damned Capitol can remove our scars and make people look more like birds than humans but they still haven’t found a way to completely get rid of colds and flu and to top it all off, YOU of all people succumb to the stupid sickness. This sucks so much ass.” She muttered grumpily.

“Your bedside manner sucks ass Clove. If you’ve just come to complain, seriously fuck off. I’m tired.”

She groaned then, the sound mingling with his and she blinked, taking him in again as if for the first time. To see the great and mighty Cato brought so low by a simple illness was confusing and uncomfortable for her. Not to mention, training really had kinda sucked without him.

She tossed her head back and bit off the snarky reply she’d originally intended to shoot at him and instead opted for a somewhat less bitchy response. “Oddly enough that wasn’t why I came. Just figured I’d come by and see how bad it was. Training was boring as all hell without you to annoy.” She admitted that last part reluctantly, but in the end it had just come out anyway.

“Hmmm… So basically what you’re saying is you missed me, so you came to see me because you couldn’t bear not being able to see me for a whole day.” He taunted her with his words and that familiar gleam shone in his eyes.

She wanted to slap him in all honesty. But even ill as he was she knew that with him it was a very bad idea. For once she hadn’t actually come to fight him… Surprisingly. “You’re putting words into my mouth. I merely came to confirm you were not in fact dead. You’re not, I should go now.”

She moved to get up and he shocked her by knocking her off balance and tugging her closer.  “Fuck! For once, would you just admit that you actually developed what normal people call ‘a feeling’ and you wanted to come see me?”

“I didn’t. Like I said, I just…”

She started to reply, but he growled, sounding so much like himself and glared at her with such a frigid anger that she cut her own words off and let them trail away. Why was he pushing this? Now, of all times? Had the fever travelled to his brain and taken what little sense he’d had left or something? That was the only explanation she could come up with.

“Stop bull shitting me Clove! I’m sick, not fucking stupid! Though you love to think otherwise don’t you?! Why can’t you ever admit you actually give a fucking shit?! Just once!” He roared at her, his voice already rough and horse, but still filled with a raw power she knew even she could never command.

She both loathed and loved that he could make her feel this way. That he could make her feel full stop. No one else could get under her skin, no one else could make her admit the things she felt with him and no one, no one at all had ever or could ever make her stomach tighten in a way that was both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time.

She stared into his suddenly clear and angry gaze and felt a small part of her escape from the cage she’d locked it away in so many years ago. “Fine! I missed you ok?! Everything felt wrong without you there, training was boring as shit and I fucking missed you! Are you happy now?”

Unsurprisingly he sure looked it. A small smirk twisted up the edges of his lips and he chuckled softly before it turned into another hacking cough. “Y-yeah… H-happy now.” He choked out when he finally got himself under control. “And I knew you missed me without you having to say it. You don’t even notice what you’ve done do you?”

She blinked, frowning at him in confusion before glancing down. She hadn’t noticed it at all, but even while they’d argued she’d found herself slipping closer and closer to him and now she understood the sudden rush of warmth she was feeling. She’d sunk beneath the covers of his bed without even a thought. The action was so ingrained, she’d just done it as she always did.

She shook her head and sighed. “No. I didn’t even know I was doing it.”

He didn’t laugh, but the mocking look was present in his gaze as clearly as if he had just fallen out of bed laughing at her. “That’s why you’re my Clover. You just belong beside me and we don’t even think about it.” He taunted her with his words yet again, but at the same time she knew it was true.

He was Cato. HER Cato. He annoyed the hell out of her, he fought with her constantly, he’d been her training partner ever since they day they’d first met and he was hers to kiss and touch whenever she wanted.

It wasn’t even an issue that they kissed and did those things with each other. There was simply never any question of being this way with anyone else and no desire to, they just did it mostly because they could. She might be fifteen and he technically an adult at eighteen, but that hadn’t even entered into things when they’d tried kissing one time because Clove wanted to know what it felt like.

It had just been natural for Cato to be the one to kiss her. It had been natural for him to be the first to touch her after that, to stoke the fires of need and desire inside of her too. And it had just felt right for her to lose her virginity to him on a cold winter evening not long after she’d turned fifteen.

“Don’t call me Clover.” She grumbled absently and glared forcefully up at him.

He shifted, wrapped both arms around her and tugged her against his bare, too warm chest. “Kiss me and I won’t do it again.” He replied teasingly.

A crease appeared on her forehead where she frowned so hard and she smacked him on the chest as she raised her face from his body to look at him. “Eww. Cato no, that’s gross. I don’t wanna catch your disease. Go back to sleep and I’ll come back later or something. If I don’t decide to kill you before then.”

His laughter sounded congested and phlegmy, in other words frankly disgusting and he squeezed her slender frame against his. “You’re probably gonna catch it anyway and we both know you’re not gonna go anywhere. You missed me and you’re gonna curl up in my bed and sleep just like you always do when I’m beside you.”

He sounded so sure and confident she was severely tempted to get out of the bed just to be contrary. She didn’t, she draped an arm around his waist and sighed. With a shake of her head, she replied negatively again. “Maybe I became a somewhat normal human being and developed feelings or at least **A** feeling and yeah maybe I’m probably gonna stay here but I am soooo not kissing you when you have the damn flu Cato. That’s sick and so are you.”

He groaned, huffed and dropped his head back to the mattress, but his gaze still skewered her with its intensity. “Are you gonna become a decent girlfriend and bring me soup then? Cos most girls would bring kisses AND soup to get their man better you know.”

He seemed to be musing to himself with thoughts she really didn’t want to know the origins of right now and she growled back at him. “Who in the hell said I was actually your girlfriend? And no, I’m not bringing you any damn soup. You know I can’t cook. I’d probably somehow manage to burn water.”

“I did. You’ve always been my girl and I’m well aware of your cooking abilities, but you know, you could have lied and got your mom to make some and said it was you. That would have made me feel better.” He grinned back at her and idly his hand seemed to skim down her back.

“Why? Because I lied and you’d know full well it was a lie so you’d have something else to taunt me with? Yeah that sounds great, why didn’t I think of that?” She rolled her eyes deliberately and dramatically at him and then dropped her head to his chest.

Her fingers followed his pattern perfectly, tracing lazy circles and figure eights over his bare hip and side and she huffed angrily. When the hell did they become so domestic? So… So actually like boyfriend and girlfriend that she hadn’t even noticed they were doing it?

“You suck, you know that right? For making me your girlfriend when half the time all we do is fight. It’s stupid.” She probably wasn’t making much sense, but then again none of this was really making sense to her right now.

She’d been so sure she was coming here just to check on him because as her training partner, it was irritating for him to be incapacitated and she wanted to know when he’d be back. But from the minute she’d walked in the door and spoke to him, she knew now, that wasn’t why she’d come here at all. If it was simply that, she wouldn’t have bothered turning up in the first place. She’d just bitch and moan when he came back finally and then kick his ass not even caring.

“I seem to remember you doing the sucking around here Clover.” He shot back looking and sounding more smug than she ever remembered him doing.

 His words brought her out of her internal reverie and the urge to smack him rose up stronger than ever. “Well hold onto that memory, I don’t see it happening again anytime soon.”

He groaned, lifted his hand from her back and coughed into a tissue he grabbed off the side. “You’re cruel Clover. Luckily that’s…” He paused, coughed again and then reached out for a glass of water that sat on his bedside table. “Why I like you.” He finished while he hauled himself up into a semi upright position.

“You’re supposed to be resting.” She scolded him as she scooted a little away from him to allow him to get comfortable.

“I am. I never got out of bed or did anything strenuous did I?”

She shook her head, because unfortunately, he was right. He had done little more than sit up a bit and uncover his toned upper half to her hungry gaze. What she wouldn’t give for him to NOT be ill right now. This was fucking torture and she was certain he knew exactly what he was doing too!

“No, but you’re still not sleeping like you should be.”

He shrugged, curled his arm around her shoulders and tugged with his still considerable, if weakened strength. “I’ll sleep if you stay with me. Now get the hell over here and stop fucking complaining at me would you?”

Again the urge to say no simply because he was demanding something of her rose up strong, but they both knew she didn’t really want to walk away, even right now. Reluctantly, she moved over so that her head rested on his broad and still overly warm chest and sighed.

“If you start ordering me around like a wayward dog, illness or not, I can and will still kill you. Just a friendly note.” She poked him in the side for emphasis and listened when he burst out laughing before it turned into a series of dry, raspy sounding coughs this time.

“There’s nothing friendly about you either. But I’ve always liked that.” He whispered softly.

His tone was warm and seductive and any other time she would have given in, pinned him to the bed and taken what she wanted from him. He’d give it willingly of course, he was always more than willing for that, but she wasn’t about to do that with him in this state. That was just too far even for her.

“Yes well, now that we’ve established you’re a twisted masochist, will you get some fucking rest?”

Her fingers moved up, trailing his firm stomach and she closed her eyes and wished that she either had better control over this fire that constantly burned within her when he was around or that he wasn’t ill so they could do something about it.

“Only if you kiss me.” He retorted smugly.

She didn’t raise her head from his chest and gave a low grumbled response. “Again I say Hell no to that. Yes I’ll stay here, yes I’ll hold your damn hand if you insist on playing all domestic and crap with your incessant need to ‘cuddle’…” She added emphasis to that one word and a shudder rippled down her spine at it before she continued. “…but I’m not gonna kiss your diseased mouth right now. Get better and then we’ll talk.”

She’d never been much of a cuddler, oddly enough however Cato seemed to enjoy it immensely. Though, she was fairly certain that was mainly because he knew it bugged her so much and he enjoyed taunting her just as much as she enjoyed doing it to him.

“Who said I was talking about on the lips?”

His tone was fairly bright and playful, but there was a hard edge to the set of his jaw when she glanced up that told her he was fighting the urge to… well fight with her for talking to him that way. He didn’t like to be treated this way, she knew that better than anyone.

“Fine, if I kiss you on the cheek or whatever, will you relax and shut up so you can rest for a bit? You sound half dead by the way.”

He opened his mouth to respond, quickly turned away and scrambled for the box of tissues on the bedside, pulled one out and sneezed into it. Tossing it into the waste basket by the side of his bed, he dropped his head back against the cool wall behind him and sighed. “I feel half dead. Now about that kiss… You kiss me and I’ll do anything you want.”

She smirked, feeling her lips curl up into her all too familiar sneer and watched him groan. He seemed to find it a great turn on when she gave him that twisted look and he was clearly suffering with the inability to do anything about it now.

“What I want isn’t possible right now.” She teased, stretching up to press her lips to his lightly sweat sheened cheek. “So instead I’ll settle for you getting some sleep, because you clearly need it. So shut up and rest now.”

“Mmm fine, but when I’m better…”

“Yes yes, when you’re better we can fuck all you want, any way you want. Seriously, not helping either of us here. Be quiet.”

The growl rumbled through his chest, she could feel his body quiver with it and she wondered if she’d finally pushed him too far with her commands this time. Even in this state he was still one of the most dangerous members of District 2 after all.

“If you were anyone else, I’d have snapped your neck long ago. Don’t tell me what to do.” His voice had taken on that warm, oddly pleasing quality again, despite his harsh sounding words and he leaned down, his hot breath washing over her skin this time. “You know we could laze about together in bed all day if you were ill too.”

She laughed, snorted deeply and buried her face into his chest. “Yeah, well that sounds fun as hell. Now I totally want to catch the flu.” She shot back adding extra venom and sarcasm to her words. Seriously? He wanted her to get ill just so he could lounge in bed with her all day and do nothing but sneeze and cough? “What the hell is wrong with you Cato? Even my parents, as ineffectual as they sometimes are wouldn’t let me haul myself out of bed with the flu just to come and curl up in bed with you. And that just sounds like the least fun thing to do ever.”

He let go of her then, pulled slightly away and huffed to himself. “Is it really wrong to want to just spend some damn time with my girlfriend? The girl who only ever seems to let me close when we’re having sex or like right now when I’m too ill to do shit? You never wanna do anything, it’d just be nice to have you actually stay with me for a fucking change.”

And now he did sound petulant, but also slightly furious. Maybe even a little unhinged as he so often accused her of being. She couldn’t be completely sure to be honest. He’d never seemed to care before, so was this just the illness talking or long borne frustration? She honestly couldn’t tell. But one thing was clear, he was pissed and as usual it was at her. Did he have a right to be pissed though was the question.

She sighed and shook her head, pulled back so that her eyes met his and cocked her head to the side. “So you want me to be ill just so we can do this? Why didn’t you just try ASKING like a normal person?!” Fuck, why did he always have to complicate things?

“Because you always say no and walk the hell away Clove! I’m tired of it!”

He coughed after his outburst and fixed her with a fierce, firey glare that belied the sudden coldness of his stance. He’d shut off again, he probably wanted to hit her, though he never had and she knew never actually would do so.

“So what do you want from me Cato? You knew right from the start I wasn’t the kind of girl who’d curl up on the sofa with you and watch stupid movies or any of that crap. Why is it suddenly a bad thing now when you’ve never had a problem before?” She snapped and folded her arms across her chest once more.

“Maybe because you admitted you actually had fucking feelings earlier and yet you won’t even try to see if you like those kinds of things or not. Or maybe because I feel like fucking shit and every time we get somewhere and I think you might act normal you go and act like this and I’m not in the mood for our usual games today.”

He huffed and turned to face away from her and Clove blinked, feeling appropriately like he’d just bitch slapped her. Well shit, she’d never known this bothered him so much. He seemed more than content to just drift along like they always had. It was how they worked... Wasn’t it?

Or maybe not. She stopped and studied him for what seemed the millionth time, and for the first time she took in the tense way he held himself. His shoulders were slumped in a display of defeat she’d never known he was capable of, but his body still resonated tension and anger and the sickness that currently wracked his body made him look odd.

Oh for fucks sake. Was this REALLY that important to him? She reached out, placed her hand on his heavy bicep and tugged ineffectually at his arm. “Cato… Would you just look at me?!”

“Why Clove? So you can push me away… AGAIN. Seriously, if you wanna fight some more, go find someone else. I’m done for today.” He glanced back at her, eyes dark with anger, but clearly hazy with his need to sleep.

“I don’t know how to do all this Cato. You know that. Sex and kissing and touching, all those things we do are just fun, just whatever and you know that. But this, curling up in bed and NOT fighting with you… I don’t know how to do that!”

She knew his mom could probably hear them fighting, but she wouldn’t come up unless she heard something big, most likely anyway. She heaved in a deep breath and looked at him. She found herself at a loss. Emotion was something neither of them were supposed to feel, especially him. So why was he so much better at it than her?! Why did he care so much when she’d thought they both knew where they stood?

“You’ve never tried! Would you stop being a Capitol robot for just five fucking minutes and give it a damn try for once?!” He snapped back and flung the glass of water across the room in a fit of frustration.

“Your mom’s gonna go mad.” She muttered and glanced at the twinkling shards of glass and the damp patch on the wall and floor.

“Like I give a shit. Stop changing the fucking subject!”

She deflated and when he reached out for her again, she let him pull her back against him and felt the almost overwhelming heat radiating from his body. She almost wanted to believe it was just the illness talking, making him seem irrational. But she knew his tells far too well. This was something that had been brewing for a long time and with him already feeling like crap it had clearly finally spilled over.

“Cato I… I wasn’t trying to cause shit. For once. I… Fuck I’m sorry alright?” Apologies weren’t something she was used to, but she tried. She bit her lip and tried to consider the things he was suddenly asking of her. How in the hell was she supposed to give him that? COULD she give him that? She really didn’t know.

“Just try. I’m not asking you to change, just fucking try is all.”

His words and his hot breath sent another shiver shooting down her spine and she sighed. She nodded and leaned against him, because sick or not, she couldn’t deny that she liked being this close to him. “Fine. I’ll try but no promises. Now go to sleep, seriously. I mean it Cato, get some bloody sleep.”

“Kiss me.” He demanded lazily, slid slightly down the bed and pulled her basically into his lap. He smirked down at her when she glared up at him and tightened his hold, squeezing her lightly. “Kiss me again and I’ll be good and sleep.

“Fine, but I’m serious Cato. Go to fucking sleep after this.”

She stretched up, her lips moved towards his cheek for a second time that day and at the last minute he moved. Quicker than she’d thought he could right now, he kissed her, properly. Their lips met and he hummed into the kiss, surprising her so much that for a second she did nothing but give in to the familiar feeling and the warmth that practically shone from him right now.

And then her senses came back to her, she shoved him back, hard. “CATO! What the fuck?! If I get sick from this I’m going to kill you!” She snarled and smacked him across the chest.

He chuckled, the sound rumbled through his chest and he closed his eyes to her protests. He shifted, making himself more comfortable and she tried to pull from his arms and smack him for real. How dare he do that?!

“Go to sleep Clover. If you get sick, I promise to bring you soup and curl up in bed with you to make you all better.” He murmured with a yawn that quickly escalated into a harsh cough.

“God damn it Cato, that doesn’t make what you just did ok! You’re a shit and when I get out of here I’m going to kill you.” She hissed and struggled against him again.

His hold tightened to an almost painful degree and his words came out in barely more than a whisper. “Mmm, but you liked it and if you kill me, who’s gonna kiss you then huh? Night Clover.”

“It’s daytime idiot.” She grumbled back, but it was clear he was no longer listening. Within seconds his breathing evened out and the fevered tiredness clearly pulled him into sleep before he could even fight it. “God I hate that I want you… Sometimes.” She whispered to the silent room, gave up trying to get away and accepted her fate.

She probably would have caught it anyway, but oh he was going to be made to pay for this if or when she did get sick.  He was going to pay big time…


End file.
